http://www.telstra.com.au/bigpond-internet/mobile-broadband/mobile-tablets/samsung-galaxy-tab/

Funny to think this launched at ~$900 four months ago.


I've decided to order one, at this price its a reasonably cheap and portable web browser, GPS unit, and Skype client.

^

at the same time, i'm glad i sold my ipad for a xoom. it's bloody awesome.

I still can't find a use for tablets to justify the purchase of one. But if I ever was to get one, I think it'd be an android based one.

They're just giant smartphones without the phone part right? (and the same hardware stretched over a large screen/higher resolution). TBH I've never really paid attention to them, but am unsure why people would really get one over a phone.

should be pretty obvious now that iPads are worth their money, they retain their value for a reason

Doesn't that just prove apple products are over-priced?

You can't fit 7 inches in your pants?

I use my Galaxy Tab every day :)

You can make phone calls on Android tablets (unless it's a wifi-only model).

While I can't really justify the need for a tablet, I reckon I'd get a lot of use out of one. Still, it's a fair chunk of change.

Can you use two SIM cards on the same phone number & plan and both work at the same time (i think no but thought i'd ask) so i can use my phone & tablet ?

No, though many phones can be act as a wifi portable hotspot. Thats how I plan to use mine

You don't though.

I've read it supports bluetooth headsets, not sure whether it supports 3.5mm though it certainly wouldnt surprise me

Saying "a tablet is just a giant phone, just get a phone" is full retard.

speaking of which i had a play with the samsung galaxy s2 phone or whatever they call it- hasn't been released yet but will be very soon. on board gpu and dual core cpu... in the phone... i don't really get it to be honest.

it runs angry birds pretty good... lol.

Saying "a tablet is just a giant phone, just get a phone" is full retard.

I was asking what the difference is, as I have no idea, and am curious why people are fascinated with them.

Does anyone know which are better, the Galaxy 10" or the Asus ones (transformer, slider, etc)?

Heh, I used to have one of them.

It's more the input rather than the view which is the issue, for me anyway. I have big hands.

I was asking what the difference is, as I have no idea, and am curious why people are fascinated with them.

Not really a difference, but browsing and stuff on a phone isn't so bad really, it's the size which restricts you from doing things a bit quicker, i guess the tablet kind of fills that niche.

Tablet for my parents makes sense though, they're always getting out the laptop, plugging it into the wall, checking google, then packing it back up 3-5 minutes later. A tablet around just to get them to wikipedia to settle their arguments about the size of a viola etc would really be an investment. They'll do that whole 15min process maybe 2-3 times in a dinner when i'm there :P

Apps designed for the iPad compared to the iPhone make good use of that extra space too. It's not just all blown up. You generally see extra content / menus / frames that make doing whatever you're doing easier. Games that rely on touch screen controls are way better. In fact once you start getting into games on the iPad you never want to play games on your phone, it's just so much more enjoyable. This is also the big difference between iPad and the competition. iPad has over 80,000 apps designed for it, for the bigger screen. There something like 20-30 android apps actually designed for tablets. The rest is all just phone stuff you run on your tablet not optimized at all.

This is the statement i never understand.

Why I play games on my mobile:
1) Not at my PC
2) Don't have my laptop with me

If i had a tablet, i'd have to sit down somewhere to actually play games on it (if its the size of an ipad that is), why would i bother when i can grab my console controller? Is there some benefit in this i don't understand?

It depends what you want to play. You're defiantly getting a different style of game on your iPad than your console. Like say, cut the rope, drop chicken, pvz, angry brids etc. Then add in stuff like ashphalt 6, car racing games using you're iPad to steer. With the larger screen up in you're face compared to sitting back from you're hd tv it's actually a rather immersive experience. Dungeon crawler type games dungeon hunter 2 etc. There's definitely something to be said for smaller fun games rather than console games that have a lot of production time, spend millions on and cost you 50 bucks.

But what makes iPad shine is more is do it all nature IMO. I wake up, I generally grab my iPad, check my email, then move on to my rss, of which I probably have anywhere from 100-200. Of those ill skim and actually read 5-20. Then I might check my YouTube subscriptions / Facebook. I could play a game or 2, I could check in on some forums. Read the news on Zite / Pulse news / ABC / CNN. Read whatever I'm reading ATM in iBooks or whatever reader app you use. It does most of what I need during the day in a better format than a smart phone or laptop with fantastic battery like. Tablets are the perfect in-between.

Could you do most of that on a laptop? Sure, but apps take web content and package it up in a much nicer, slicker, add free, touch friendly interface that makes doing most of it a much more enjoyable experience. I was much like a lot of you where I couldn't see a space for a tablet at first. I was without my laptop for a few days and started to use my iPad exclusively for a little while. It made me take the time to buy a few apps to make doing what I do easier, importing all my bookmarks to atomic web browser, setting up last pass Bookmarklets so I could easily log in pages with the press of a button. Once I had everything setup how I liked it and was used to it, when I got my laptop back I found myself much preferring the iPad for most tasks.

I think more and more people are starting to come around like I did.

Just received mine. I'll post some impressions later

For $300 I'd be interested in buying one. So write something up nathan!

I still can't find a use for tablets to justify the purchase of one.

The total reason why one should or shouldn't buy something. Everything else is want.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yIB5pjjDIc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7TGy_icJiI&NR=1

youtube isn't me but set up wiimote last night and had nothing but awesome fun with it. it was far too easy to set it all up.

I would except I've got 10 months left in my contract and I want to keep my number. I want to stick with Telstra but they won't let me upgrade cause it's too soon. Maybe I should just buy the HD outright and stick my sim in it and get wifey to get on a cheaper plan with the desire.

It depends what you want to play. You're defiantly getting a different style of game on your iPad than your console. Like say, cut the rope, drop chicken, pvz, angry brids etc. Then add in stuff like ashphalt 6, car racing games using you're iPad to steer.

I have angrybirds, cut the rope, and a bunch more on my phone, even that ashphalt 5 (not 6) on the galaxy, all were free. My arms drain of blood and i have to put them down. It's the same problem I've had with my PSP-1000 that my hands get numb after holding it up too long (when lying down specifically), i can only expect that to be WORSE with a heavier object..

But what makes iPad shine is more is do it all nature IMO. I wake up, I generally grab my iPad, check my email, then move on to my rss, of which I probably have anywhere from 100-200.

Why is the pad better for this? My phone does that at 480x800 and i'm not blind. Also I can watch flash content (eg: streams of starcraft 2 from justin.tv) before i go to bed. A bigger screen could help, but my hands get numb when holding things for more than half an hour straight in bed.

I could check in XXX

What makes a pad better for this than a phone? The amount of times i'd be likely to have a phone and nothing else is nearly 100% of the time. By having the pad i'd need to carry it around. It doesn't fit into my pocket. It doesn't fit into my life. It would need to be incorporated and time set aside for it to exist, or start carring it around with me.

Could you do most of that on a laptop? Sure, but...

All things that aren't different between a phone and a pad. I'm looking for reasons for getting a tablet which are more than "It's like a phone but with more screen realestate, but disadvantage of being larger, and therefore it can't fit into your pocket".

Here's my life revolving around my technology:

1) Wake up, check phone, see if anything's worth getting out of bed for, maybe make a qgl post, maybe check facebook, maybe see if a youtube of my subscriptions has come up (usually team liquid TSL etc).
2) Get to my desk where I'll write out a post like this, which actually has more than 12 words and a joke.
3) Get showered, dressed, keys wallet and phone, go out the door with everything in my life that's needed fitting right into my pockets
4) Car drive, phone plays music via blutooth to my stereo
5) Get to destination (right now that's uni). Stand around playing phone, listening to music wait for class
6) Class is over, play games music while waiting for next class,
7) Catch a bus (in the alternative world that it's a day where i caught a bus) and therefore play my phone
8) Get home, PC
9) In bed, phone.

This kind of lifestyle surely normally is similar to other people. See how the phone integrates well with being a location less component which fits neatly in and fills in spare time? If i had an ipad, i'd maybe be able to use it instead of the SGS phone, but it'd be if anything less convenient. I might enjoy the few minutes or half an hour more but the rest of the 16 hour day i've got to carry it around.

(PS: I learned that i learn better by using textbooks and taking hand written notes rather than using a laptop, i leave that at home and all devices off in my classes. That's because in my lectures i'd roll up with my laptop write out a bunch of stuff, and then i'd be on qgl/otherforums and miss most of the point of the lecture, so i banned technology while in class.)

Although I concede that the 7" would fit neatly probably into my life instead of the phone, if it was a better phone lol. My pockets are big enough to hold 7", but not the ipad which is more like 7x10".

With PC/Console gaming as what i consider more immersible in the games i have a wheel exclusively for GT-R, keyboard and mouse for SC2/quakelive, xbox controller for PC for sitting and playing at my couch for assassins creed, just cause 2 and so on which i feel are more immersive than say angry birds, or demon hunter or ashphalt5. So I'd be unlikely to want to substitute out those games for a pad experience of a phone game.

So what I'm asking is, where do you think I'd change my life, if i got a pad today and started playing with it, would I just cut out somewhere? Or would I fit it in somewhere else? Do you just sit down and play your pad or do you play it on-the-go? What does your day look like on average with the pad?

My SGS came fully charged out of the packet. Maybe I was just lucky..

If you squeeze the box of the Galaxy Tab by the slightest amount, it eventually turns the device on to tell you that it powered up in an unknown mode. So there are probably heaps of these devices being switched on and off randomly as they're being moved around in the T-stores, etc. Mine started off at about 40% charge.

All things that aren't different between a phone and a pad. I'm looking for reasons for getting a tablet which are more than "It's like a phone but with more screen realestate, but disadvantage of being larger, and therefore it can't fit into your pocket".

I guess if you're happy doing all that on your phone than fair enough, but I'm pretty sure you're in the minority their. I could watch tv on a 23" inch monitor with Full HD res as well, but I prefer to watch it it on a 50". if you're happy with a 4" screen compared to a 10" that's up to you.

Also I don't know whats up with you're arms going numb, but I never experienced that nor have I heard of anyone else.

So what I'm asking is, where do you think I'd change my life, if i got a pad today and started playing with it, would I just cut out somewhere? Or would I fit it in somewhere else? Do you just sit down and play your pad or do you play it on-the-go? What does your day look like on average with the pad?

Like I said before, wake up check iPad, do usual stuff. Work day, chuck the iPad in the bag, head to work (5 mins, I drive). Have the ipad around at arms reach at work to keep up with personal RSS and email throughout the day. Come home. If I'm watching tv etc, again iPad always at arms reach to do whatever. iPad has taken a lot away from what I would have used my phone and laptop for. My phone is more or less SMS and calls now. You're obviously not going to take your iPad if you go down the pub or whatever. So that's where the phone still comes in. But if I have the choice I go to the iPad.

This is just from a bit of fucking around in the office, haven't seriously used it yet:


Pros:
- the 7 inch screen is good quality and a good size for something you can just throw in your bag, while still being quite readable. Overall the device is about the size of 3 Galaxy S laid side-by-side
- at 1024x600 you can view web pages in landscape at 1:1 and its nicely readable
- the included video player handles 720p MKV beautifully. I dont have a 1080p on hand to try
- google maps / navigation is easier to use with the large screen

Cons:
- there is a noticable lag in the default web browser when you first start scrolling, although after that it seems smooth. its almost like the software is requiring you to move your figure "enough" to start the scrolling event. home screen/app drawer/etc do not have this, just seems to be the web browser. I'm using another web browser (Dolphin HD) now for this reason
- it is relatively thick given its width and height
- screen is relatively glarey and picks up fingerprints, as is common with these LCD screens
- despite being lighter than the ipad, it *feels* heavy; I think its more that its denser than ipad
- skype for android does not support video yet! I had no idea :(

Opera Mobile (not Mini) is by far the smoothest browser on Android, as it has GPU acceleration. Not sure how it handles on a tablet though.

I'm looking at getting the Galaxy Tab 10.1, but I'll probably wait until the redesigned version comes out in a few months. It's a bit thinner, and I don't think the one coming out next week has expandable memory, which seems totally retarded.

Are the maps stored on the actual device or you need internet access?

I just looked up the Asus Transformer today, and holy crap, it looks awesome. Definitely the raddest looking tablet, imo. The current version doesn't have 3G support though, but I have a 3G wireless modem, so I'm not too bothered.

Have read this thread every day, umming and ahhing about buying one. Even stopped by JB Hifi on the way home today to play with one, however it was 5 minutes before the shop shut and some lady was hogging it. Haven't read anything convincing to make me get one, and I will probably buy a Galaxy 2 next month anyways. But something about it (at that price) is just making me WANT.

Dumb question - do you need a sim/data plan to use it or could you just run it on wifi?

yeah im same as you zak, i assume it'll get cheaper at some stage though?

And yeah just wifi works

Dumb question - do you need a sim/data plan to use it or could you just run it on wifi?

You don't need a sim, but the device keeps telling you there's no SIM inserted (not annoying popups or anything, just icons and a message on the lock screen). You could just buy a $2 sim card and pop it in to shut it up.

too small, require this:

The Tab is just fantastic, been playing with it for about 2 days now and it blows my motorola defy phone out of the water in terms of ease-of-use, responsiveness and features esp. from not having Motoblur!

I just have to figure out how to use it as a main phone - does anyone have suggestions? Just bought myself a bluetooth earset which seems to work well with calls, and forwarding incoming calls to my prepaid sim on my motorola phone so I don't have to scramble for the earset before the person hangs up.

Also been doing research into proper cases and these seems to be the best so far:

http://www.zenuscase.net/gallaxy-tab/gallaxy-tab-en.html

(there seem to be quite a few cases around that don't have a hole for the rear camera, these do!)

that doesn't look ridiculous at all

You haven't seen the size of nathan's ass

nathan can you post some pictures of you holding it sexy style? Show thickness etc. For $300 it sounds damn good and if those are the only negs than wow - awesome. How does it compare to the ipad in usability.

They have them on display in any JB Hifi store, just go play with one yourself.

use my galaxy tab every day.. has replaced my pc at home pretty much for everything bar gaming or serious work stuff - chil on couch with tab ftw. Battery lasts about 3 days of minimal use although heavy use can suck it dry in less than a day.